The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Passes Iron Man 3 to Become Top Film of 2013

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has passed Iron Man 3 at the box office to become the top grossing film of 2013. EW's Mark Harris tweets that the film is also the first movie with a female lead to be the year's number one film since The Exorcist in 1973.

Catching Fire has now made over $410 million and is still in theaters. Iron Man 3 made $409 million. The gross earnings are tied to the year the film was released for ranking purposes. No other film made over $400 million in 2013. You can see a list of the top U.S. grossing films in 2013 here.

Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer, said in a statement, "The success of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a testament to the vision of author Suzanne Collins, the sure hand of director Francis Lawrence, the brilliant performances of a remarkably talented cast led by the amazing Jennifer Lawrence and superb execution by our motion picture production, marketing and distribution teams. We will continue to grow the transformative Hunger Games franchise in the years to come even as we continue to develop a dynamic portfolio of premium new brands."